Former Maharashtra CM Prithviraj Chavan alleged irregularities in electoral rolls during a Sunday press conference in Ahmedabad. He said, "Issues highlighted include the repeated use of the same photograph and inconsistencies in names." The Congress launched a nationwide campaign to address these concerns and protect the rights of voters.
Senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and deletion of voters' names across the country as he launched the nationwide 'Vote Bachao, Desh Bachao' campaign, called by the All India Congress Committee, in Ahmedabad on Sunday.
Chavan, a former chief minister of Maharashtra, alleged that an analysis of the results of several recent elections and the corresponding electoral rolls revealed several serious discrepancies.
"An analysis presented by Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi -- covering electoral rolls in several states, including Haryana -- has raised questions regarding the credibility of these rolls. Issues highlighted include the repeated use of the same photograph -which, in the case of Haryana, even included the use of a photograph of a Brazilian actress- and inconsistencies in names," Chavan said at a press conference held at the Gujarat Pradesh Congress Committee (GPCC) headquarters here.
As part of the campaign, the Congress will hold community meetings at every polling booth and appoint 'vote rakshaks' across Gujarat.
Regarding the SIR (Special Intensive Revision) process of electoral rolls, the Congress alleged that the names of a large number of voters across the country were removed. According to the Congress, more than 13 crore names were deleted from electoral rolls across 30 states.
"Specifically, Form 6 -- intended for new voters -- has been altered in such an insensitive manner that an 18-year-old youth is asked to provide details regarding the specific polling booth where their parents or grandparents cast their votes 25 years ago (in 2003). Consequently, millions of eligible young people are deprived of their right to vote. Steps must be taken to ensure that no eligible citizen's name is erroneously removed from the electoral roll and that every qualified voter is able to exercise their right to vote," GPCC president Amit Chavda said.
Raising concerns about the appointment process for the Election Commission, Chavan stated that the impartiality and independence of the Election Commission serve as the foundational pillar of democracy. "In December 2023, the Central Government amended the law, removing the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from the selection committee -- as originally suggested by the Supreme Court -- and replacing him with a Cabinet Minister (Amit Shah). This move has posed a serious threat to the autonomy of the Election Commission," he alleged.
The Congress demanded the immediate removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the implementation of a transparent appointment process for the Election Commission, an amendment to the law, and the initiation of criminal proceedings against those who have engaged in wrongdoing, along with a call to revert to voting via ballot papers.
Chavda further stated that over several years, serious questions were raised regarding the impartiality, neutrality, and transparency of the Election Commission. Despite substantial evidence, no action was taken, he alleged.
"In Gujarat, too, the state Congress Committee undertook significant work regarding this issue of vote theft. The BJP and the Election Commission consistently denied our submission -- made on August 30, 2025 -- that there were over 60 lakh 'fake' voters in the state. Today, the Election Commission itself validated what we had said by stating that, out of a total of 5,08,43,436 voters, 14.61 per cent or over 74 lakh voters are either deceased, duplicates, or have migrated," Chavda alleged.